Docker Curriculum Overview

What is Docker?

Docker is the open-source platform that revolutionized software development and operations by popularizing containerization. A container packages an application along with all of its dependencies, configurations, and runtime binaries into an immutable, portable artifact that runs predictably across any infrastructure.

Before containerization, teams struggled with the infamous "It works on my machine" dilemma caused by environment drift, missing system libraries, and divergent OS configurations between developer laptops and production servers. Docker eliminated this friction by creating isolated execution boundaries using Linux kernel primitives:

Namespaces: Provide process, network, mount, IPC, and user isolation.
Control Groups (cgroups): Enforce hardware resource limits (CPU quotas, memory caps, IO bandwidth).
Union Filesystems (Overlay2): Enable efficient copy-on-write image layering.

Docker Core Architecture

The Docker platform employs a client-server architecture where the command-line client communicates with a persistent background service:

Docker CLI (docker): The developer interface used to execute lifecycle commands (build, run, push, pull).
Docker Daemon (dockerd): The persistent engine that manages container lifecycle, image cache, virtual networks, and volume storage.
Containerd & runc: The OCI-compliant runtime that interfaces directly with the Linux kernel to instantiate namespaces and cgroups.
Registries (Docker Hub, AWS ECR, GitHub Container Registry): Centralized image stores where versioned container artifacts are published and distributed.

Diagram

Key Benefits for DevOps & SRE

Immutable Infrastructure: Deploy the exact image that was tested and scanned in CI directly into production.
Density & Speed: Containers start in milliseconds and share the host kernel, consuming a fraction of the RAM and CPU required by Virtual Machines.
Simplified CI/CD: Build pipelines compile self-contained images tagged with git commit SHAs, guaranteeing deterministic rollouts and rollback safety.
Multi-Cloud Portability: Run the exact same containers on bare-metal servers, AWS ECS, GCP Cloud Run, or Kubernetes clusters.

Complete Curriculum Roadmap

This comprehensive handbook covers the entire Docker engineering lifecycle across 10 structured modules:

Module 1: Introduction

What is Docker: Containerization Overview, Docker Vs Virtual Machines, Why Docker For Devops
Docker Architecture: Docker Engine, Docker Daemon Client, Docker Registries

→ Explore Introduction

Module 2: Installation

Installing Docker: Install Linux, Install Mac, Install Windows
Docker CLI Basics: Docker Cli Overview, Cli Cheatsheet

→ Explore Installation

Module 3: Docker Basics

Containers: What Is A Container, Container Lifecycle, Running Containers, Container Commands
Images: What Is An Image, Image Layers, Pulling Images, Image Commands

→ Explore Docker Basics

Module 4: Docker Images

Dockerfile: Dockerfile Overview, Dockerfile Instructions, Building Images, Build Context
Image Best Practices: Multi Stage Builds, Reducing Image Size, Caching Layers, Base Image Selection
Image Concepts: Tagging Images, Image Versioning, Image Scanning

→ Explore Docker Images

Module 5: Docker Containers

Container Management: Starting Stopping Containers, Container Logs, Exec Into Container, Container Resource Limits
Container Configuration: Environment Variables, Port Mapping, Restart Policies, Container Naming
Container Storage: Container Filesystem, Bind Mounts, Tmpfs Mounts

→ Explore Docker Containers

Module 6: Docker Networking

Docker Network Basics: Networking Overview, Network Drivers, Default Bridge Network
Docker Network Types: Bridge Networks, Host Network, None Network, Overlay Networks
Container Communication: Container To Container, Custom Networks, Dns In Docker, Exposing Ports

→ Explore Docker Networking

Module 7: Docker Volumes

Volume Basics: What Are Volumes, Volumes Vs Bind Mounts, Creating Volumes, Volume Commands
Volume Management: Named Volumes, Volume Drivers, Sharing Volumes, Volume Backup Restore

→ Explore Docker Volumes

Module 8: Docker Compose

Compose Basics: What Is Docker Compose, Compose File Structure, Compose Commands
Compose Configuration: Services, Networks In Compose, Volumes In Compose, Environment Variables In Compose, Depends On
Compose Advanced: Multi Environment Compose, Compose Override Files, Compose Profiles, Health Checks

→ Explore Docker Compose

Module 9: Dockerfiles

Advanced Dockerfile: Entrypoint Vs Cmd, Arg Vs Env, User Instruction, Healthcheck Instruction, Advanced Instructions
Production Dockerfiles: Non Root User, Secrets In Builds, Security Best Practices, Dockerfile Linting

→ Explore Dockerfiles

Module 10: Docker Workflow

Docker in CI CD: Docker In Cicd Overview, Docker With Github Actions, Docker With Jenkins, Docker Build Push Pipeline
Docker Registries: Docker Hub, Aws Ecr, Private Registry, Registry Authentication
Docker in Production: Docker Logging, Docker Monitoring, Container Security, Docker Swarm Overview

→ Explore Docker Workflow

Essential Commands Cheatsheet

Command	Description
`docker run -d -p 80:80 nginx`	Run an image in the background with port forwarding
`docker ps -a`	List all running and stopped containers
`docker build -t myapp:1.0 .`	Build a Docker image from a local Dockerfile
`docker exec -it <id> sh`	Open an interactive terminal inside a running container
`docker logs -f <id>`	Follow live container stdout/stderr output
`docker compose up -d`	Provision multi-container application stacks
`docker system prune -a`	Clean up dangling images, stopped containers, and unused networks